Fingernail polish in an illustration from 1931. The tips and “half moons” remain white. This was the fashion during the 1920’s and the 1930’s. Delineator, November 1931. The artist was Dhynevor Rhys.
By 1931, the liquid product we call “nail polish” was widely available, but there was an earlier way to shine your fingernails: nail polish powder. It persisted into the 1920’s.
From an ad for Cutex nail powder and polishes, Delineator, November 1924.
Back in the 1940s, my mother still had her old celluloid dresser set, (not as nice as that one!) which included — in addition to a hair brush and a mirror — a button hook, a hair receiver, a container for collar studs, a file, and a nail buffer. She showed me, once, how to put the polish, which came in a small jar, on my bare fingernails and then buff them to a soft shine with a chamois nail buffer.
Using a nail buffer; illustration from an article on nail care, Delineator, July 1924, p. 37.
Buffing your nails was supposed to improve circulation; it gave them a temporary rosy glow. (Pink fingertips go back a long way; Homer describes the dawn as “rosy fingered.”)
“Now when the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared, Nestor left his couch and took his seat on the benches of white and polished marble that stood in front of his house. [Odyssey]” Thanks to Gary Corby.
In 1917, this is what nail polish could look like:
From an ad for Cutex nail polish, Ladies’ Home Journal, October 1917.
Cutex Nail Polish ad, 1917. Ladies’ Home Journal, October 1917.
The range of Cutex products in a sampler set from 1917 included “the ideal cuticle remover,” an emery board for shaping the nails, an orange stick for cleaning under nails and pushing back the cuticle, a ball of cotton, nail white, “polishing paste pink” and a bar [or is it a box?] of polish.
Cutex manicure products, 1917. This sampler kit “sent for 14 cents” includes two forms of polish, nail white, cuticle remover, “Cuticle Comfort” moisturizer, and basic tools. Ad from LHJ, October 1917.
There is an excellent history of the Cutex company, which was founded by Northam Warren, complete with product descriptions and early advertising: click here.
This Cutex cuticle remover ad from October 1917 explains how to use it by soaking cotton in the Cutex and applying it to the cuticle with an orange stick. (The thimble-like object is the cork bottle stopper.)
The Cutex company’s initial product was a liquid for softening and minimizing cuticles without cutting them: Cuticle-“X,” became the “Cutex” brand.
Cutex Cuticle Remover ad, October 1917; Ladies’ Home Journal. “Discard forever your manicure scissors!”
After removing the cuticle and buffing your nails to a rosy shine, you could finish by whitening the tips of your nails:
Applying Cutex nail white, from a 1917 advertisem*nt. “A touch of Cutex Nail White underneath the nails leaves them immaculate — snowy white.” Later, Nail White came in a tube, making it easier to apply. This is an ancestor of the “French Manicure” popular at the end of the 2oth century.
In 1917 — and into the 1920’s — the ideal was an almond-shaped nail with a distinct half-moon at the base and white tips:
The twenties’ ideal was almond nails with white half moons and tips; from an ad for Cutex, November 1927; Delineator. Colored polish was not applied to the tip or the base of the nail.
Half moons and lovely oval fingernails. Cutex ad, April 1928. Delineator. The “ideal nail shape” changed to sharply pointed nails in the nineteen thirties, but the half moons and tips remained white.
According to several sources, clear liquid nail polish was available in 1916, and Cutex sold a clear liquid polish, tinted “natural” pink, after 1920, but in this Cutex ad from 1924, Cutex Liquid Polish which “lasts a whole week” is just one option among the older buffing products like powder polish, cake polish, and paste polish.
An introductory set: Cutex powder polish and liquid polish plus cuticle remover and cuticle cream. Ad in Delineator, October 1924. Full sizes cost 35 cents each.
Throughout the nineteen twenties, liquid polish gained popularity.
The “sophisticated Parisienne” applies Cutex Liquid Nail Polish in this ad from November, 1926. Delineator. The brush is now part of the bottle cap.
Cutex packaging was changing, too.
A sample of Cutex liquid nail polish in a bottle with separate brush. Ad from November 1926. “In two shades, “Natural or the New Deep Rose.” A bottle of nail polish remover was included.
By 1928, Cutex ad campaigns featured celebrities like Anita Loos.
Anita Loos appeared in an ad for Cutex liquid nail polish in 1928.
Illustrator and industrial designer Helen Dryden praised liquid Cutex nail polish.
Fashion Illustrator Helen Dryden illustrated many magazine covers for Delineator. Cutex ad, 1928.
So did this “lady explorer” (Osa Johnson) on a zebra….
Cutex ad, January 1929, Delineator. Cutex liquid nail polish was advertised as nail protection in the late 1920’s.
Also in the late twenties, Cutex packaging took on an Art Deco look:
Cutex Liquid Nail Polish and Nail Polish Remover. January 1929 advertisem*nt. This introductory offer included both for 6 cents, but normal sized bottles cost 35 cents each.
Incredibly, it seems that liquid nail polish was sold in the 1910’s before nail polish remover appeared, but in this 1929 introductory package, they are offered together.
The ideal fingernail was not overly long in the 1920s — and nail polish did not cover the “half-moon” or the tips of the nails. Cutex ad, Delineator, June 1928.
Elegant hands wear colored nail polish on a Delineator cover, February 1932. Dynevor Rhys illustration.
As liquid nail polish became available in a range of bright colors, Cutex had to convince women to wear them. There was an ad campaign stressing that respectable socialites and debutantes wore colored nail polish. Presumably, conservative women thought red nails were the sign of a scarlet woman, and had to be persuaded otherwise.
Do 1932 debutantes choose tinted nails or natural? Cutex ad, Delineator, February 1932. “The popular girl of 1932 is way past losing sleep over whether to wear her nails bright or pale.”
Debutantes were encouraged to wear colored nail polish — and sharply pointed nails. Cutex ad, Delineator, February 1932. Applying polish to just part of the nail is definitely more difficult than painting the entire nail, but fashion is rarely practical….
Pointed nails shaped like claws appeared in the early 1930’s.
The picture of innocence? Strawberry soda and very sharp fingernails painted to match. Delineator cover, July 1933. Dynevor Rhys illustration.
If respectable women were going to have bright red fingernails, they needed to be taught how to coordinate their nail polish with their clothing.
Three highly respectable socialites wear brightly colored nail polish. From left, ruby red nails with a black outfit, rose nails with a green dress and silver fox fur, and coral nails with a beige dress. Cutex ad, February 1933, Delineator.
Tinted or natural colored nail polish? It depended on what you were wearing. Cutex ad, February 1932. “Wear Cardinal with black velvet — Natural with brocaded [metallic] lame — and Coral to accent white satin.”
A larger range of colors was available:
Cutex advertised six nail polish colors in February 1933. Delineator. A woman had to have several choices so she wouldn’t “commit Atrocities” with clashing colors. “If there’s any dress in your closet that hasn’t its special shade of polish to snap it up, go get it!” That should increase sales….
There was also price competition:
Ad for Glazo liquid nail polish, Delineator, February 1934. At 25 cents, Glazo was much cheaper than 35 cent Cutex, which made it easier to own several colors.
From an ad for Glazo nail polish, Delineator, February 1934. “Six authentic shades. Natural, Shell, Flame, Geranium, Crimson, Mandarin Red, Colorless.”
Women also needed more nail polish in the nineteen thirties, because they were encouraged to paint their toenails, too.
A “manicure” included matching polished toenails in this beauty advice article from July 1934. Delineator, p. 37. The new, open-toed sandals for day or evening showed off twinkling toes.
In the thirties, open-toed shoes came out of the bedroom and on to the dance floor. These high-heeled evening sandals , trimmed with gold, were featured in 1934:
Right, evening sandals, June 1934, Delineator.
The sandals pictured below are for daytime wear, but not necessarily on the beach.
Fashion article in Delineator, June 1934. Sandals to show “your tanned feet and tinted toe-nails.”
Daytime sandals described in Delineator fashion article, June 1934.
EXTRAS: You can still buy a nail buffer and polishing cream at Vermont Country Store.
There is a History of Cutex with color ads at the Chronically Vintage blog, and an authoritative history of Cutex with color ads and images of products 1920, etc. at the Northam Warren (Cutex) site.
FAQs
The twenties' ideal was almond nails with white half moons and tips; from an ad for Cutex, November 1927; Delineator. Colored polish was not applied to the tip or the base of the nail.
What color nail polish was popular in the 1930s? ›
Popular Nail Polish included pale rose, light pink and cream shades,applied only in the center of nails with the half-moon and tips left bare.
Did they have nail polish in the 1930s? ›
“Nail polish was a cheap pick-me-up during the 1930s,” says Shapiro. “It was an easy way for a woman to feel as if she was retaining her femininity, especially since she had to cut back on fashion and other nonessential items.” Shapiro also notes that by 1931, 85 percent of American college women wore nail polish.
Did nail polish exist in the 1920s? ›
Nail lacquer took off in the 1920s when French makeup artist Michelle Ménard partnered with the Charles Revson company, Revlon, as we know it today. Inspired by the enamels used to paint cars, Ménard had wondered if something similar could be applied to fingernails.
What color nails did flappers have? ›
Colours used were more often roses, reds and oranges, but there has been some evidence of use of a peaco*ck green colour. In this day and age, it would be best to have this done by a professional manicurist.
What were the nail trends in the 1930s? ›
In the 1930s, there were women who wore their nails rounded, of course, but I wanted to bring attention to this tapered point nail shape. Instead of an even length of the free-edge around the tip, the free-edge tapers thinner to the outer edge. Many women today wearing vintage nail styles wear this pointed shape.
What Colours were popular in the 1930s? ›
At the same time, however, the backdrop of 1930s America was also an ongoing Great Depression. And perhaps as a reaction directly opposed to those dark times, popular colors of the era were light, soft hues … seafoam green, muted gold, pale blue and lavender helped mark the 1930s.
How can you tell how old nail polish is? ›
A nail polish's expiration is mostly determined by the expiry date specified on its packaging or label, which is usually located to the side or the bottom of the polish container.
What were the first nail polish colors? ›
Early nail polish was a mixture of (definitely not vegan) beeswax, gelatin and egg white dyed with orchids or roses, that was left on the nails for a number of hours leaving a stain. Reds and blacks were very popular colours according to ancient manuscripts, as well as adding in metallic dust of silver and gold.
When did colored nail polish come out? ›
But, if we're going according to modern nail polish, the first color would be the rose-tint polish developed by Northam Warren in 1917. The rose tint nail polish became a hit in Paris and launched an entire line of colored nail polishes with different nail polish names.
The invention of the car spurred the creation of the first modern-day nail polish. Inspired by automobile paint, a completely colorless version was introduced in 1916. Revlon became the first established nail polish brand in 1932 when they released a cream color.
Did they have nail polish in 1919? ›
Nail polish as we know it was invented in the 1920s with the introduction of nitrocellulose as an ingredient, but decorating nails was not a new concept. Mummified pharaohs were found to have used henna on nails and Indian and African women dyed their fingertips with it.
What does green nail polish mean? ›
Green: Associated with relaxation, nature and money. It stimulates harmony and balance in our brains. It symbolizes nature so it implies an eco-friendly personality.
What does red nail polish mean? ›
Red nail polish is the ultimate statement of glamour — a bold, look-at-me color that speaks of passion, fire, and confidence. It marks you as daring, dramatic, and outgoing… someone who doesn't shy away from the spotlight.
When did blue nail polish become popular? ›
Blue makeup has been documented as being popular in mainstream culture as an eye shadow as early as the 1940s, but it didn't make its way onto nails until the late 1960s, when baby blue and navy blue were popular among the hippies and mod girls.
What color lipstick was popular in the 1920s? ›
As for colors, red, orange-red and rose were popular lipstick colors in the 1920s. Dark red lipstick was also popular for the evening.
What color were Marilyn Monroe's nails? ›
Marilyn Monroe wearing her signature red nail polish.
What does a 1920s flapper girl look like? ›
They donned fashionable flapper dresses of shorter, calf-revealing lengths and lower necklines, though not typically form-fitting: Straight and slim was the preferred silhouette. Flappers wore high heel shoes and threw away their corsets in favor of bras and lingerie.
When did painted nails come into fashion? ›
A recent entry of my “page-a-day” calendar informed me that “Modern nail polish first grew popular in the 1920s,” when the Cutex company developed a brush-on varnish based on automobile paint.
Did they paint their nails in the 40s? ›
The common 1940s Nail Polish styles
Women also wore a basic fully painted nail, as I describe below about nails and the war effort. The half moon manicure with a clean tip was a common manicure style. Or pick one end, either at the base or at the tip.
When were duck nails popular? As mentioned before, duck nails are nothing new, they're just another Y2K trend making a comeback in 2023. The duck nail trend made its mainstream debut in the early 2000s and stayed until the early 2010s.
What colors were popular in 1920s? ›
What colors represent the 1920s? Neutral colors were popular in the 1920s, such as light pink, off-white, green, and pale gold for women, and light blue or green for men. These colors reflected the cultural emphasis on airy, less-restrictive clothing in the 1920s.
What color represents the 1930s? ›
The 1930s were marked by color palette that was muted, soft and, above all, dusty. Most of the colors that can be seen in this decade were misty and chalky. Gentle hues of mauve and lavender, as well as shades like seafoam or cornflower were some of the defining visual cues of these times.
What were some iconic looks of the 1930s? ›
Women often accessorized with inexpensive costume jewelry, gloves, silk scarves, and furs. Smaller hats were popular, such as berets, Greta Garbo-style slouch hats, or knit caps. Turbans topped fancier looks. Two-tone oxford shoes and strappy dress shoes with high, chunky heels were the shoes of choice.
Is it okay to use really old nail polish? ›
“The main problem with using a polish that's been open for more than two years is that it won't yield as good of a user experience. It will probably be thick and hard to put on, and the color might have faded, too,” says Berry. “As polish gets old, it loses the ability to support an even, beautiful application.
How do you date old nails? ›
Moreover, dating nails may seem like a real challenge since they do not have a general identification feature. But a physical examination of the old nails your metal detector found can determine their age. Looking at the nail's spike, shank, and head will help you determine how old they are.
How many years should you keep nail polish? ›
"The shelf life of an unopened polish can last up to 5-8 years, and after opening the polishes last up to two years," Ling Lin says. Forgetting to screw on the top tightly or exposing your bottles to veritable temperatures can also speed up the expiration process.
What does 💅 mean from a girl? ›
A 💅 indicates a sassy tone.
Someone may use a 💅 to show that what they've sent is to be read in a bold and cheeky way. In this context, the emoji means “bougie.” X Research source This usage is especially popular on TikTok.
What is the most classic nail color? ›
Brown. Whether you're wearing it as a nude or a neutral, brown nail polish is an elegant and classic shade that goes with anything, regardless of the time of year.
What was the Queens Favourite nail polish colour? ›
Ballet Slippers was the queen's favorite nail polish
The nail polish sported by Queen Elizabeth on many grand occasions throughout three decades was Ballet Slippers, a pale pink nail polish that you can get from Essie for only $10.
Red quickly became the wartime standard, the colour of passion matching the spirit of the war effort.
What is the most expensive nail polish in the world? ›
The designer, who specializes in black diamonds, has created a nail polish worth 250 thousand dollars, approximately £185,000 a bottle. Why so expensive you ask? Well, the lacquer contains 267 carats of, you guessed it - black diamonds.
What gender was nail polish made for? ›
The first-ever nail polish to be sold in stores (a red lacquer called “Cherries in the Snow” by Revlon) had been around for four decades, but the beauty product was marketed solely to women.
What is the most famous nail polish? ›
Essie. Essie is one of the most well-known and loved brands of polish. The quality of the formula and color selection is unmatched for the price point. “We'll make a bet that nearly every salon you've ever been to has had Essie nail polishes on hand.
What is the oldest known nail? ›
Archaeologists have found hand made bronze nails from as far back as 3000 BC. The Romans made many of their nails from iron, which was harder, but many ancient iron nails have rusted away since. The hand-forged nail changed little until well into the 1700's.
What is the colorful history of nail polish? ›
In the 1920s, automotive paint was invented, and not long after, French manicurist Michelle Manard adapted the formula to create opaque nail polish. Her employer, Charles Revson, knew a good thing when he saw it, so he and his brother Joseph launched a new company, Revlon, with the first colored nail enamel in 1932.
Did Cleopatra paint her nails? ›
Evidence shows that queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, frequently used nail polish to demonstrate her status as queen. Joining her in the ranks of elites, upper class Egyptians used a pop of red fingernail polish to show off their status, while lower classes wore toned-down nude colors — way to blend in with the crowd.
Did men paint their nails in the old days? ›
Men have been wearing nail polish since 3,200 B.C. Following the excavation of royal tombs at Ur of the Chaldees in southern Babylonia, it was reportedly discovered that most men during that era wore nail polish. The colours were used to represent the man's status and class in society.
What color nail polish did they wear in the 50s? ›
1950s nail polish
Nail polish was co-ordinated by manufactures to match their lipsticks. Therefore, pinks, reds and coral were all popular.
What does purple nails mean on a girl? ›
Purple Nail Polish Meaning Domestic Violence Awareness.
Nuances from the nude range such as cream or beige are considered particularly attractive. Well-kept nails with transparent polish or in light shades of pink are also particularly appealing to men.
What does black nail polish on one finger mean? ›
In fact, the sentiment behind black nail polish on the ring finger actually supports a very noble and important cause. Many people, including some prominent celebrities, have joined hands and painted a single fingernail in solidarity with the prevention of violence that is enacted against children.
What do purple nails mean? ›
Blue or purple nail beds or nails are a common sign of cyanosis, which is caused by a lack of oxygen in the blood. This type of discoloration can also occur on other parts of the body including the hands, fingertips, toes, nose, lips, and tongue. Cyanosis is often caused by exposure to cold temperatures.
What do pink nails mean? ›
This color has its obvious associations with femininity. However, when you wear it as a nail color, it also signifies that you're a person with a lighthearted and positive mindset. The femininity of pink nails also reflects the nurturing side within you.
What do black nails mean? ›
A black fingernail is known as a subungual hematoma. It is caused by a build-up of blood under the fingernail. This usually results from an impact or trauma to the finger which can cause considerable pain. In most cases, ice and ibuprofen are sufficient to treat it.
What color nail polish was popular in the 1920's? ›
The twenties' ideal was almond nails with white half moons and tips; from an ad for Cutex, November 1927; Delineator. Colored polish was not applied to the tip or the base of the nail.
Was there nail polish in the 1920s? ›
Nail lacquer took off in the 1920s when French makeup artist Michelle Ménard partnered with the Charles Revson company, Revlon, as we know it today. Inspired by the enamels used to paint cars, Ménard had wondered if something similar could be applied to fingernails.
When was blue nail polish popular? ›
Blue makeup has been documented as being popular in mainstream culture as an eye shadow as early as the 1940s, but it didn't make its way onto nails until the late 1960s, when baby blue and navy blue were popular among the hippies and mod girls.
What was the original nail polish? ›
Early polish was apparently made from a mixture that included beeswax, egg whites, gelatin, vegetable dyes, and gum Arabic. In Egypt, members of high society painted their nails a reddish brown, using henna. In the ninth century, nails were tinted with scented oils, and polished or buffed.
What is the oldest nail polish brand? ›
Revlon became the first established nail polish brand in 1932 when they released a cream color.
After all, blue is a beautiful vibrant color and people with blue nail polish are always ready to make a fashionable statement. On the other hand, blue is also often seen as a color of serenity or calm.
What does purple nail polish mean? ›
Purple Nail Polish Meaning Domestic Violence Awareness. 29 Beauty Questions With…
What does it mean when you paint one nail blue? ›
The special organization encourages men and women to paint one nail, typically blue but any other colors can be used, to help raise awareness about violence against children.
